but Ellen gets GB footballers off to a flier
A DOUBLE from Ellen White saw Team GB’s footballers enjoy a successful start to the Olympic Games with victory over Chile.
The Manchester City striker grabbed one in each half at an empty Sapporo Dome and then warned more were on the way.
‘I feel really delighted with where I’m at but there’s still more to come from all of us,’ White said. ‘We’ve worked tremendously hard to get to this moment. It doesn’t stop here.’
Some had wondered how new coach Hege Riise would send out her side given the disruption Covid had caused, but there was harmony from the start with every player — including the team’s non-English members — singing the national anthem.
Team GB took the knee as expected ahead of kick-off and were joined by their South American counterparts. The group announced their intention to do so last week, after the relaxation of Olympic rules around making symbolic gestures.
Riise wanted her side to start on the front foot and they obliged.
Team GB had the ball in the net inside 10 minutes but White was offside when she tapped in. The breakthrough came before long, though, when she fired home on the turn after Lauren Hemp had knocked down Lucy Bronze’s cross.
With Kim Little controlling midfield and Hemp causing problems on the left, there was a degree of control to the performance. But for all their dominance, chances were limited and frustration mounted. This was a game Team GB were expected to win against a team 31 places below England in the rankings.
Eventually, they put the game to bed with a brilliant second. Bronze feigned to shoot and glided past a defender before dinking a cross over to White who, again on the half-turn, volleyed past Christiane Endler, widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the game. It was a fine goal that deserved a crowd.
‘I asked for a good start and we made a great start,’ said Riise, whose side face hosts Japan on Saturday. ‘We will work on our ruthlessness in the box to try to score more goals.’ GREAT BRITAIN (4-3-3): Roebuck; Bronze, Houghton, Bright, Daly; Little (Toone 90+2min), Weir (Scott 90), Walsh (Ingle 69); Hemp (Parris 68), White, Stanway. Subs not used: Stokes, Telford, Williamson.